Author's note: Hello everyone! Sorry for such the looong delay on the chapter.. I've been really busy in school recently and I haven't had as much time to write, but I've worked on it when I could have! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! As always, feel free to give a review to give me some feedback, so I can tell how the material sounds to everyone! Enjoy!
The three members made it to the main hall of the hotel, dashing down the main staircase and past the main desk. As they continued to move, Ash noticed that the same teller that was with them in the room was standing behind the front desk, simply watching them go by. He didn't speak a word at all.. perhaps he was too frightened with what was happening outside. Ash gave a quick nod to the uniformed guy and headed outside with the others. Once they reached outside, everyone raised up their weapons to meet any infected that they might encounter... but that was the strange thing...
"Where on Earth did all of the infected go? The lobby was filled with them earlier!" Ash spoke, looking around, and moving his rifle according so, for any of the infected. Misty was also baffled, as she was looking around and not finding anything at all.
"Maybe they moved away? Like if there was some big explosion on the other side of the city and they all went there?" Misty suggested.
"No, if that were the case, we would have felt the explosion from inside that room.. Nor did we hear any explosions from outside.. Most of them must have died out from the city's defensive force and the rest of them might have infiltrated buildings and are simply hiding inside them. We have to be careful with this false sense of security, though, for they could attack at any moment" Lawrence spoke, scanning the area around him, "Come on, let's keep going before the night settles in".
"Right" both Ash and Misty replied, as they all started to move towards the supply depot. As the group moved past all of the either damaged or blown up cars littered across the streets of Celadon City, Ash and Misty were noticing all of the damage that this infection invasion has truly caused.. both on a capital scale and on a human scale. Bullet holes and explosive residue lay waste amongst most of the sidewalks, streets, buildings, and what not... and all around this destruction lay the bloodied bodies... everywhere.. literally, there seemed to be entire areas that were just covered in the bullet-ripped bodies of the infected, laying dead as their blood pools around the piles, creating a horrible stench.. body parts also laid scattered around explosion marks, as dismembered arms, limbs, legs, even heads were pilling up all over the area... there was so much blood in the streets, that it had began to create small streams of blood headed into the gutters...
"My God... this is horrible..." Misty spoke softly, looking at all of the devastation surrounding them. Her eyes kept shifting from one body to the next, trying to avoid the flowing blood that seemed to be everywhere... it then reminded her of the messenger that had visited Misty earlier that particular day... and reminded her of the image of... both Ash and Brock laying dead in the room, with blood on the walls... her eyes were starting to become filled with fear from this image... and now truly seeing it in real life…
"Misty!" which snapped her out of her daze, from Lawrence's words. "I need you to keep your cool and stay focused.. I know that your mind wants to look at what has happened around us.. but we need to keep focused and not let these horrors get to our mind.. it's the only way that'll prevent that from happening to us" he spoke, continuing to make his way around the various body parts laying on the ground. Misty was still stuck in her place, trying to get a grip on herself and following Lawrence's advice, but she just couldn't… every time she tried, that image would continue to pop up in her mind. Suddenly she felt something pulling her from her hand. She snapped back into reality and noticed that Ash had grabbed her hand and was slightly tugging her forward.
"Come on, Misty, you'll be okay" he cooly spoke, giving a smile on his face. She nodded, giving a smile on her face, but she still continued to look around as they continued to walk on. Misty felt bad about being stuck in this stalemate of her subconscious but the Messenger was continuing to disturb her mind.
"I'm sorry.." Misty replied, as she felt herself being distant from what had being going on around her, "All of this blood and destruction keeps reminding me of what the Messenger showed me.."
"It's okay, Misty.. all of this is spooking me as well.. but we have to remain focused on keeping a lookout for any infected out here. Just cause it's too quiet doesn't mean that we should let our guard down."
"Pardon me but did you say something about a 'Messenger'?" Lawrence interrupted, while he was still scanning the areas around them. Both Ash and Misty could tell that they were nearby the supply depot because his glances were becoming more static, like a "lock-on" mode.
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
"I don't know, I've actually heard about a 'Messenger' before amongst several of the other members of the C.D.F."
"What did they say?" Misty quickly asked.
"Oh nothing much, honestly. Though they did mention that it was some sort of spirit that visits others in their dreams, to warn them about some sort of impending danger, and tries to help them find a safe way out of it. The whole story is based on a local legend."
"Really?"
"Yeah. According to the story, 50 years ago there was a little girl, about 8 years old, who had owned some kind of ghost Pokemon, which was rare in those days. The loyalty that that Pokemon had with that girl was known across the entire town. The Pokemon always tried to help out the town in any way that it could, using a strange ability that is similar to what a meditator would call a 'vision', where they have a glimpse into the future through their own thought process."
"Wow, that's incredible! I didn't think that a Pokemon, of a ghost type anyway, could have that kind of ability" Ash replied, becoming interested in the story.
"Yes it truly is. But one day, when the girl had turned 18 years old, the ghost Pokemon had suddenly disappeared for some unknown reason. Everyone in the community searched for it through a week-long span. Unfortunately they weren't able to find it and called off the search, making the girl quite saddened. But about a month later, a man from the town came into the mayor's office, proclaiming that he had a vision that the town was going to erupt in flame that next day, and that they should do something to prepare for it. The mayor claimed that the man was insane but the man said that some sort of 'Messenger' appeared in his dreams, telling him about this message. Even then, the Mayor shooed the man away, telling him to go see a psychiatrist… but the man was actually right! That very next day, in fact that same time, there was a fire that had gotten started in one of the lower districts of the city and eventually made its way into the main part of the city. By the time that the fire was extinguished, more than 70% of the city was burned up."
"Holy cow.."
"Yeah, it was unbelievable the amount of damage that was caused in the city. Took them about 5 months to get all of the debris taken care of and the city was slowly rebuilt into what it is today. As to the 'Messenger' part of the story, no one exactly knows what it is even to this day. There have been scattered reports of the Messenger appears in people's dreams, and how it gave them advice on avoiding a particular event that would have otherwise killed them."
"Do you believe in the legend, Lawrence?" Misty asked him as they were continuing to walk past all of the destruction around them. Ash caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye what looked to be an infected member that was torn in half, but the upper torso, arms, and head were still functioning. Ash winced at this sight and decided it would be best to keep his glance forward.
"A little bit. I mean, compared to some of the other scary urban legends, this one actually seems to be a good one. So I do sorta hope that it does exist. That thing could really help us out right now.. I think we're just about there, hurry up now!" Lawrence ran up ahead, leaving Ash and Misty to catch up to his position. They reached a small building that almost looked like an abandoned warehouse. "I hope there is still supplies left in here!" Lawrence spoke, as he swiped his badge next to the ID holder, which blinked green and unlocked the door. Quickly he opened the door, waiting for the other two to get inside before he closed it and made sure it was secure.
"Um.. is a supply cache suppose to look this empty?" Ash commented as he looked around the inside of the building. The only thing that was inside this small building was a handful of steel crates that look like they had been sitting there for almost 20 years; cobwebs covering just about everything. There was also a small window that was on the adjacent wall overseeing the dusty and antique room.
"Yes, actually it is." Lawrence spoke, walking over to one of the crates by the wall. Ash then noticed how one of the crates seemed like it was part of the building… unless it was planned that way! Lawrence swiped his ID again on what was suppose to be another ID scanner, though it was impossible to tell from a distance. A small beep was heard and suddenly a small compartment opened up, revealing a key pad. He typed in a set of numbers, to which the slot then disappeared. The crate then slid over into the building, revealing a ladder that lead down to an unknown location. Both Ash and Misty were left in complete awe; they would not have seen that coming! "Come on, you two, the supply cache is down here" Lawrence spoke, while climbing down the ladder. Ash and Misty glanced over at each other, shrugging their shoulders, and then proceeded to climb down the latter after Lawrence.
"So why conceal it this way?" Ash spoke, as he slowly climbed down the latter, "I mean, it is necessary to have it this hidden away?"
"Unfortunately we have to. It's department protocol. We have to conceal it the way that it is mostly due to the simple fact that these are weapons. If the public had access to these weapons and ammunition, then we would have a real issue of city safety on our hands".
"Really? Celadon City doesn't seem like a city that would have issues with the public" Misty spoke, watching to make sure that she didn't accidentally step on Ash's fingers as they climbed down.
"It's because you don't live in the city," Lawrence replied, "For years, there has been a gang war that has been kept in the shadows of the great city. It has continued to become a more violent situation as the months pass by. Usually, most of our cases surround these violent outbursts instead of threats from outside the city. Thankfully they are mostly handled well in preventing the accidents from becoming big-time tragedies."
"Goodness.. how did it all start out?" Ash asked calmly. In the back of his mind he continued to wonder how much further they had on the stairs they were climbing down.
"No one knows for certain, but a lot of people speculate it to be a major clash between two dominant Italian families within the city. Most think that this gang war got started from an aspect of bad gambling. You know the case: One guy thinks the other guy cheated, they argue, they fight, one guy is left dead, and then a whole war breaks out.. I tell you the things they've done to each other is ridiculous. Thankfully they at least have the common respect to do these things outside of the downtown area.. away from all the media.. because the last thing that the C.D.F. needs is public pressure to handle this situation".
"Yikes.. sounds like a terrible situation.." Misty commented.
"Yeah it's quite the mess.. Ah here we are!" Lawrence replied, as they reached the bottom of the long descent of stairs.
"Thank goodness" Ash whispered, to which Misty picked up and chuckled at it. Ash and Misty climbed off the steps and followed closely behind Lawrence. They walked down a hallway that was dimly eliminated by a blueish light and was surprisingly clean considering its isolation from everything else. "Is it bothering you too that the floors are kept this clean?" Ash whispered to Misty. She nodded her head in approval, as she continued to look behind her.
"I don't know what it is, but I've got the feeling that we aren't the only ones here" Misty spoke quietly, as they continued to walk.
"I'm getting that feeling too," Ash replied as well, "Lawrence! Are you sure that we are the only ones here? The floors are way too clean to not have been visited!" He was walking a little further up than the two.
"Yeahh.. we might not be the only ones here…" Lawrence replied, pulling his light machine gun up to his side, "There might be groups of fighters that have made themselves home in these catacombs to protect themselves during the night time."
"Why would they do that?" Ash asked, unsoldering his rifle and checking behind them as they moved along. Misty also withdrew her pistol and checked behind her as well.
"Well.. it is the nighttime after all.. this is the time of day that the infected have the advantage over us, through the stealth of the darkness. Considering the speed of these infected, if you were caught outside in the dark… you're basically considered dead… so it's no wonder that so many would hide in these catacombs."
"So then why do I get the feeling that we are being followed?" Misty replied, with a wavering of worry in her voice.
"That is because you are" a voice suddenly appeared behind the two, which caught the two completely off guard as they jumped in the startle! Before the two could turn around, the mysterious figure had both of them pinned to the ground.
"Ow! What the hell?!" Ash replied, his face getting shoved into the concrete floor, "What's the meaning of t- AHH!" he tried to speak before getting more pushed into the ground.
"I'd stay quiet if I were you," the voice cooly spoke.
"What the hell Lawrence! What's going on?" Misty spoke out, "… Lawrence?"… no reply at all.
"Lawrence! You better say what's going on! AHH!" Ash spoke again, yet continued to get smushed into the concrete.
"You don't stop yelling, do you?" the voice spoke again.
"Well, it certainly doesn't help when my head is getting crushed to a pulp against the concrete!"
"Certainly it doesn't… but I don't want you going anywhere any time soon.." Suddenly, before Ash could speak or do anything, he felt something smack against his head and he blacked out upon contact…